Best Friends With the Billionaire(35)

She walked out of the bathroom then, because the gash in her heart was widening, and she didn’t know if she could hold everything inside her. She went into Lillian’s bedroom where piles of clothes and suitcases littered the room, and sat on the bed. She wasn’t ready for the rehearsal and dinner, didn’t know if she was strong enough to watch a happy couple and be a part of their celebration when all she could think about was Kirk.

Kirk and his taut expression when he’d said he regretted sleeping with her.

She wrapped her arms around herself, doubling over as pain wrenched through her yet again. Would she ever get over this? Would she ever be able to shrug it off and move on? Not until she was far, far away from Kirk, thousands of miles on the other side of the Pacific. She bit back a sob.

A tentative hand came to rest on her shoulder. “Cassie?” Lillian bent over her. “What’s wrong?”

Cassie swallowed and tried to sit up. “I…er…it’s nothing.”

Her sister sat beside her on the bed. “I heard you crying last night,” she said after a while.

“I wasn’t crying. That was hay fever.” Cassie swiped the moisture away from her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be in the shower? You’ll be late for the rehearsal.”

“They can’t start without me.” Lillian leaned her shoulder against Cassie’s. “It can’t be Russell, because he’s coming to the rehearsal dinner, so it must be Kirk, right?”

Blinking, Cassie turned to her sister in surprise. “You really want to know?”

Lillian shrugged, crossing her legs. “We’re sisters. Shouldn’t we be looking out for each other?”

If only Lillian had been more like this when they were in high school. But those days were long over, and now Lillian was reaching out to her. Maybe her little sister even appreciated the talking to she’d given her in the bathroom. She should be grateful for small mercies.

She nudged Lillian’s shoulder back. “Yeah, if you must know, it is Kirk who gave me hay fever last night, but that’s all I’m prepared to say at the moment.”

Lillian put her arm around Cassie and squeezed her. “I’m sorry,” she said simply. “He’s a jerk for making you cry, and if I see him again I’ll make damn sure to tell him.”

Cassie choked back another sob. “Thanks.”

Her sister patted her back before rising to her feet. “I have to get ready. Are you sure you’ll be all right? If you don’t feel up to it, you can skip the rehearsal dinner.”

God, she might start blubbering now if her sister continued being so nice and considerate.

She managed to give a rueful smile. “And have mom on me like a ton of bricks? Thanks, but I’ll be okay. And Russell will be there. He’ll cheer me up.”

Besides, being alone with her thoughts wasn’t good for her. She needed a distraction, and maybe she’d find one at the rehearsal dinner.

…

A shrill buzzing from across the room pierced Kirk’s head like a dentist drill. He rolled over, muttering a curse. The buzzing ceased, only to be replaced by a tap at the door. The tapping repeated, followed by the sound of the door opening and shutting.

“Kirk, what’s up?” a male voice asked.

Kirk stuffed a cushion against his ears, but the visitor wouldn’t be deterred. The cushion lifted as someone bent over him.

“Buddy? Are you ill—Christ, what have you done to yourself?”

Kirk slowly peeled open his eyes, his skull feeling as fragile as an eggshell, to find Lex frowning down at him. “Do you mind? I’m trying to sleep here.”

“You look as drunk as a skunk.” Lex grimaced, anger screwing up his face.

That galvanized Kirk into sitting up, which made his brain ache like a ten-ton church bell had been dropped on him. Wincing, he tried to ignore the pain. “Who made you my sobriety monitor?”

“Why did you come into work if you have such a massive hangover?”

Because he couldn’t bear being alone in his house. Because he couldn’t stand the voice in his head reiterating how much he’d screwed up.

He straightened his tie. “Because I have a meeting at three this afternoon with Hank Parnell.”

“It’s past three already, in case you hadn’t noticed, and Hank’s been waiting in the board room for the past ten minutes.”

“Ah, crap. Why didn’t Lucia call me?”

“Because you were passed out, no doubt,” Lex snapped. “I only came because I found Hank cooling his heels in the boardroom.”

Kirk pushed to his feet. His eyes were gritty, his mouth was like sandpaper, and he felt like he’d spent the night in a dumpster, but he wasn’t going to let his cousin see exactly how wasted he was.

“I’ll freshen up and be with him in two minutes.”

“No, you won’t.” Lex moved in front of him, blocking his access. “You look and smell like shit. Parnell is already irritated. You’re going to piss him off if you go in there.”

“You’re pissing me off right now by standing in my way,” Kirk barked.

Lex raised his eyebrows but didn’t budge. “You’re not feeling well. I can handle the meeting.”

“The hell you will. This is my deal.” Kirk stabbed a finger at his own chest as his temper boiled over. “You’re not going to handle anything. You got that?”

Not waiting for a reply, Kirk shoved past his cousin and strode out of his office. Lucia, his personal assistant, glanced up in trepidation as he steamed past her desk. He heard Lex hard on his tail but didn’t stop. No way was he going to let his cousin meddle with his business. He’d busted his ass on this deal, he’d put up with Hank’s hemming and hawing, he’d suffered his daughter’s unwanted advances. So he’d be damned if, after all his hard work, he let Lex take the honors.

He stalked into the boardroom and stopped short when he saw Hank had brought his daughter and his lawyer with him. All three turned and stared at him.

“Afternoon, everyone,” he said loudly. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was unavoidably delayed, but I’m here now, so let’s get down to business.”

Hank looked him up and down then exchanged glances with his lawyer. “You don’t look up to business, son, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Looks can be deceiving. I’m more than capable of doing my job. I see you’ve brought your lawyer with you, so I assume you’re finally ready to talk turkey, huh?”

Hank gave him a sharp stare. “I’m not sure I appreciate your tone.”

“Well, since we’re being so frank with each other, I don’t appreciate you stringing me along this past month.”

Hank’s face reddened as he heaved to his feet. “Right, that’s it.” He motioned to his daughter and lawyer. “Come on, we’re leaving.” As he lumbered past Kirk, he glared. “Don’t call me until you’re ready to apologize.”

Kirk watched the trio leave. He felt numb around the edges while a black fire pulsed in the pit of his stomach. Lex, who’d been watching from the door of the boardroom, walked up to Kirk and jutted out his chin.

“What the hell was that?” Lex ground out. “You’ve just flushed that deal down the toilet.”

Kirk didn’t move an inch. “Yeah, looks like it.”

“Why? After all your efforts, why are you behaving like such an idiot?”

“Because I am an idiot.” Kirk thrust his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been an idiot for years.”

The truth had been there all this time, but he’d been too blind to see it.

Lex grabbed him by the shoulder. “Don’t you even care?”

Yes, he cared. The deal was huge and important, not just to him but to all the employees who depended on him. But nothing compared to losing Cassie. “It’s just a business deal. There’ll be others.”

Whereas there would never be anyone like Cassie. He was in love with her. He loved her in every possible way a man could love a woman. She was more to him than a friend or a lover. She was comfort and joy, she was tenderness and acceptance, she was quiet times, sexy times, sad times, all times. With her he could be sad or angry or tired, he could be his best or his worst, he could be anything.

He was in love with Cassie, but he’d never been able to see that until now. The walls he’d built up around himself had become too high. Years of locking away his feelings had become an ingrained habit. Disappointment in love had made him rebuff that emotion, but his mistake had been looking for love in the wrong places. He’d been too immature and superficial to realize that the girl he felt so comfortable with, the girl who didn’t fit the mold of the woman people expected him to date, was the only girl for him.

Lex shook him back to reality. “Shit, man. This deal will make your name. You don’t let something like that slip through your fingers. If you want it, you’ve got to fight for it.”

Kirk blinked at him, blearily realizing his cousin was still talking business. But Lex had a point. If you want it, you’ve got to fight for it. Yeah, that was true. He’d been a complete jerk to Cassie, both two years ago and in the past two weeks. She had every right to be furious with him and to turn to Russell for comfort. If she’d slept with Russell last night, Kirk had only himself to blame. But that didn’t stop him from loving her, needing her. More than anything in the world, he wanted her to give him a second chance, and he was willing to fight for that.